Matinee 11th Birthday - Club Review

MATINEE 11TH BIRTHDAY PARTY - 23RD JANUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Now don’t we just love a birthday party, streamers, jelly & ice cream and chocolate cake, but no, it wasn’t THAT sort of birthday party, but a celebration of a clubbing brand legend that has been entertaining the hedonistic masses since (well nearly) before we can remember. So it was that Matinee, the massive Spanish mother of clubland machines, rolled its 11th anniversary out onto the London gAylist scene, courtesy of magnifico, Oliver Mohns and his Evolved Events team, with huge expectation after a NYD party that didn’t quite hit the mark.

But, we couldn’t have expected anything so different, with an amazingly smooth running door, an equally efficient coatcheck and more than friendly bar staff, especially with the special drinks offers laid on in recompense for previous problems, not a month ago. To say we were impressed, as we arrived at Colloseum, accompanied by D.J. talent Alessandro, was an understatement and with the gorge Minty and the scrumptious Marky B on the door, we couldn’t have been greeted any better, with Mr Mohns in attendance, truly enhancing our welcome.

Moving through an already packed main room, we stopped off to say hello to the man that is the epitomy of Matinee early doors, Guy Williams, who was spinning his fabulous musical web of hard edged tech and uplifting house twists, drawing the ever increasing crowd into a packed space. As we looked around, we were relieved, nay impressed by the superb production, akin to Matinee parties of old, with the stage area suitably & spectacularly adorned, creating three separate dance areas for Mark M Forms’ Fierce International crew to show off their wears (and what wears they were!!).

Inevitably, we needed to move on to our favourite space, the VIP room, where talent Alessandro was due to play, although it was clear that many decided not to move on from the ever popular main room and with the promised doors between the two spaces not open, it was clear many didn’t want to make the long trip round. Joel Antunes was doing his best to warm up the scant crowd, but with the draw of Mr Guy and then Spanish resident extraordinaire D.J Iordee, the dance crazy music lover followers (a true mix of cute latino’s, muscle queens, Matinee regulars & party heads) decided the bigger space was preferable, and why not as the music was not only enticing, but pure classic Matinee.

We have to say, it took just three easy (and we will come to the third in a minute) developments to make the VIP room the place to be for us, as firstly, D.J. Alessandro stepped up the atmosphere and vibe in this special place, enhanced by our prompting of the promoters to open the joint entrance from the main room (the 2nd step). With our backs turned for a mere 10 minutes, we returned to find this exclusive setting jam packed with revellers, soaking up the eclectic and yet simply entertaining house sounds, with dancefloor anthems intermixed with new beats to really set the scene for a room, for us, unrivalled throughout the night.

A short excursion down to the “test lounge” found a space that was near on empty and reflective of the lack of popularity of what is known as the third room by many, but moreover by most Colloseum veterans as a coatcheck! We can only feel sorry for the D.J’s that play this room, probably knowing that their captive audience will always only be tiny compared to the other two spaces.

Well, it wasn’t long before we were squeezing back through the primary dancefloor, stopping off the see the plethora of gay glitterati behind the dazzling main room D.J. booth, suitably adorned by the characteristic backdrop neon lights, we found, amongst others, DJ Paul Heron, having a wail of a time (was he on the decks later?). But, we couldn’t resist our special place, the VIP room, and returned to find Alessandro still delivering some wonderfully inspired records to an adoring crowd (what happened to the vinyl mix though young man!) and we continued to dance away on our favoured spot, only briefly interrupted by an impromptu flag waving display.

However, with an anticipation that just grew and grew, with his entrance to the infamous enclosure, our excitement levels overtook our temporary fatigue, as Brent Nicholls (the 3rd step) assumed the decks and started with his very first record, not only to hold the massive VIP room crowd, but to swell it. With every choice sending us wild with delirious happiness, it was clear others felt the same, as “whoop whoops” to tune after tune wailed out, much to our amusement, but just adding the electric atmosphere. Over in the main room, Italian stallion Pagano, has assumed the D.J. deck reigns, but even this couldn’t tear us away from our “court holding” elevation, (well yes this gorge guy was cruising us!!) as we lost count of our favourite tracks of the moment, funky, latin twisted and hard edged tech style beats being played out by Mr Nicholls (naughty boy!). Mind you, based on this performance alone, we are of the opinion that he deserves a slot in the main room as we are sure he would take the space by storm!

With familiar face after face wandering through to say hello, including pals Lee Yeomans, Max Sanna, Matt Bird, Sofie Karlson and dance team co-ordinator fantastique, Mark M Forms, we felt right at home and not willing to move anywhere. seeing out the rest of our stay in the VIP room at this birthday celebration , which we would have been fools to miss.

Sadly, our minds were focussed on Monday commitments and having overdosed on pretty much everything, we had to take our leave, just slightly prematurely at 7 a.m., slipping down and out (no we are not) of club Colloseum and into the ravages of a wet and cold January Sunday morning and home to collapse in our huge duvet and wear off the tortures of an emotional week, knowing that many friendships potentially lost after the events of NYD were actually intact and other pals so supportive and kind.

So, was it the birthday party we expected? Well, to be fair no, not really. It was phenomenally, overwhelmingly and breathtakingly better than we could have ever wanted. The promoters had clearly listened, as with a seamless entrance, smooth running coatcheck, friendly bar service (including welcome discounts on drinks) and top notch production & stage shows, combined with (yet again & always) first class music, ensured that Matinee’s 11th anniversary was merely a close second to the legend that was/is Matinee Viva.

Special thanks have to go to a number of people, but especially to Minty, Marky B & Oliver M for welcoming us so beautifully, Guy Williams for setting the musical scene, Paul Heron, well for being Paul Heron, Alessandro for erupting the VIP room and Brent Nicholls, for being responsible for making us wear our the dancefloor with constant gyrating to all the tunes so close to our heart at the moment. Well done to you all, you certainly know how to put on a great party. Bring on more of the same please. (DISCO MATT)

Industri's 1st Birthday Party - Club Review

INDUSTRI – “NIGHT(S) OF A THOUSAND BIRTHDAY PARTIES” (WELL ALMOST!)
INDUSTRI @ BARCODE VAUXHALL
THURSDAY 22ND JANUARY 2009
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Well, what a year it has been already, as not only has the new year dawned creating hope & opportunity for us, but THE social soiree party was set to celebrate its first year in GaYland London, and in the inimitable words of the clubs organisers, it’s been “a year on the job” and a good one too we say. Seeing off most of the other social Thursday gatherings in it’s launch twelve months, Industri has made a real impact on the scene, and one we haven’t (and wouldn’t) miss for anything.

So, it was no surprise that as the anniversary loomed, we were hastily making plans to start the month long birthday proceedings off with our very own. Just days before Christmas, we let our hair down in true Disco Matt fashion, marking our own turn of another year, celebrating in real style, with a party that saw a healthy turnout of friends old & new, combined with Industri regulars, off duty D.J’s and scene faces a plenty, all shunning the lures of the pre Christmas shopping sales in town & beyond, to hit Barcode Vauxhall and make it a special night, so good that we needed reminding of proceedings post midnight (well it was our birthday afterall!)

Then, as we had drawn breath after a marathon NYD clubbing experience, that included the extended Industri offering in the hands of Mistress Minty and her men, Paul Heron, Brent Nicholls, with new recruit, Joel Antunes, all who delighted us with the NYD meltdown/chillout we needed, yet more birthdays loomed.

Not a week after that, was probably the birthday to end all birthday celebrations, Paul Heron’s (how old) party, being on the very day of Industri. Were we to be dazzled? we certainly were, as a long list of D.J’s turned up to pay tribute to this now legend on decks maestro. And, did we, as the tag line said, “love Paul Heron”? of course we did, as face after face appeared to join in the massive party that engulfed Barcode Vauxhall. We were simply blown away by the one-off music combination supplied by the D.J’s, with the fusion of names like Alan X, Alessando, Guy Williams, Eduardo De La Torre, Gonzalo, Jamie Head, Lee Yeomans, Oliver M, and Industri resident Brent Nicholls, it was a night to remember, no, not quite a “thousand D.J’s”, but THE best the scene has to offer, simply brilliant. With the whole event caught in a series of fabulous photos posted on our favourite social networking site, and a tribute special CD mix produced, the night has become truly unforgettable.

Then, as if only recovering after a three week run of hedonistic Thursday fun, we were tipped off that the hostess with the mostest, Minty, was celebrating her birthday, so in some hurried frenzy, invited the masses to attend, only to be told we had pre-empted it all, as the following week was to be a joint celebration. Never mind we thought, thankfully so did Minty, as we indulged in a plethora of birthday drinkies, with the thought that we would do it all again the next week, but any excuse for a knees up is what we say, well especially as it turned out to be the third birthday in as many weeks.

But these were the pre-cursors to the party we had all been waiting for, yes, Industri’s first! The posters were certainly striking and with the wealth of press coverage, it was destined to be an amazing party. And what a party it was, how could it have been anything else in the hands of Minty & her boys!

Arriving, fashionably late (not again) at just before 10 p.m., we were blown away by the effort made to decorate the venue, classy & aptly coloured shiny balloons festooning Barcode Vauxhalls’ front room, giving it an almost “Disney” like feel and with the crowd building considerably, the atmosphere was already superb. With friends coming to our (much needed) supporting aid, we fell into the welcoming arms of Paul Heron, who was spinning characteristic tunes from behind the booth, really warming up the club. Paul is such a great guy and a brilliant pal, instantly making us feel welcome and at ease.

It was fair to say that nearly all the Industri regulars were there too and we couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of folks to rub shoulders with as we indulged conversations with friends Chris, Stephen, Ian, Kym, Sofie and more and marvelled at the fantastic montage of photo’s in a specially produced album chronicling Industri's history, which was passed around the whole crowd & indeed the venue.

Brent Nicholls was now behind the decks, delivering a sumptuous mix of house music heaven, with tunes of the now intermixed with new tracks to truly entice, giving rise to us relaxing into party mood, heightened by the arrival of photographer legend Chris Jepson, who proceeded to snap away, even catching us off guard (please don’t use it) as well as a combination of lovelies who were sure to adorn the pages of gay rags worthy of the day. This then prompted camera after camera to emerge and catch us and all around us for posterity, evoking everything that is so amazing about this special social soiree.

Then, looking around, we saw an excited Minty, welcoming a trio of dancers, who then disappeared “backstage” to gather themselves as the space in front of the D.J booth was cleared in preparation for a stunning acrobatic flag waving display, which grabbed the attention of everyone in Barcode, including Manager Kim and owner Troy who were both in attendance to celebrate one of the best nights of this iconic bar brand. By now the atmosphere was electric, and with the duo of Brent & Paul serving up the tastiest of funky & electro infused & twisted house tunes, you couldn’t have asked for anything more, as party animals, one after the other, continued to come and go.

With our backs momentarily turned, the music suddenly stopped and everyone gathered back in front to the D.J. booth as Paul Heron brought out a lovely candle encrusted cake, prompting birthday girl Minty to take centre stage and blow out the candles, immediately followed by a touching speech, before the music was fired up again and pieces of the cake were carved up and passed around. This also then resulted in a wave of shots coming over the bar. Did we indulge? well it would have been rude not to and so saw our evening well and truly cemented, with the brilliant combination of great music, great people and a great atmosphere that makes Industri so unique.

Before we knew it, the 2 a.m. close arrived, all too soon as far as we were concerned and as the music died down and the masses slipped away, some onto the late night club ravages of Vauxhall, with a hectic meeting filled following day, we also retired from Barcode, escorted to our waiting transport by Brent Nicholls, to then make the short journey home & to bed to reflect on the party of the year so far and the amazing time we had surrounded & looked after by so many friends.

Amidst all the doom and gloom that the credit crunch seems to be inflicting (and yes we have felt it personally too) Industri is a wonderful recipe of escapism and enjoyment that, for us, makes Thursday’s the real start to the weekend. For it to survive in a truly competitive environment and not only that but to increase in popularity, is testament to the hard work and impeccable combination of Minty, Paul & Brent. So, many happy returns to you, Industri, we love you, adore you and cherish you. (DISCO MATT)

SuperMartXe - Club Review

SUPERMARTXE – SATURDAY 3RD JANUARY 2009
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN



We love the exciting anticipation of a superb party and there is no doubt that with the dawn of 2009, there was plenty on offer to tempt us out beyond our hectic New Years Day schedule, but in reality there was only one party that was on the cards on the first Saturday of the year.

Launching to huge accolade back in November, the talk of Spain & Ibiza, SuperMartXe, had clearly made a considerable impact on a gAylist London scene getting used to large scale parties, particularly with Matinee and Revolver having paved the way for much of 2008. The massive event down at the Coronet was marred by major issues with the coatcheck, although adorable promoter Logan, promised us after the event that these problems would be ironed out for the next venture.

So, we were determined to give it another go, and arriving (like last time) fashionably late at just past 1 a.m., having been treated to yet another fantastic warm up at Barcode Soho in the talented hands of D.J. Brent Nicholls, we were expecting (what had become characteristic in our most recent ventures) to negotiate a queue to enter. However, on this occasion there was non of it, as, armed with a pre-purchased ticket, we were whisked straight into Cornet’s entrance and then dealt with in wonderfully efficient and friendly fashion by the security staff (what a fabulously breathing & brilliant change to last time) and within two/three minutes were inside the club and heading to deposit our belongings safely in the coatcheck. Yes, there was a queue here, but unlike last time, the venue was ready and it was hardly anytime at all before we were released to go and enjoy ourselves.

And that we did, entering a packed main Coronet room, which on our last visit amazed us and this time was also no exception. The huge theatre auditorium space was brimming with a glamorous, glorious mix of latino’s, scene faces, party boys & girls who were definitely up for a good time. The space was dominated by the stage area and a gigantic pair of ruby red lips, with a fantastic array of muscled go-go dancers, entertaining the amassed audience to a sexy and seductive display. Arming ourselves with refreshments and free to wander around the venue (unlike our last visit) we proceeded to find our bearings and checked out both sides of the main room also advancing down the long walkways and into the mix in the middle of this huge space, to really soak up the wonderful euro/Spanish style feel that we have enjoyed in major parties in Barcelona, Madrid and Ibiza, so similar was the space & feel.

Glancing over and up to the D.J. booth next to the stage, we saw D.J Vitti in charge of the decks, entertaining us to a mesmeric combination of tough espaniol beats, so characteristic of the sounds fit for the SuperMartXe party and was clearly enjoying himself, interacting with his audience who were gyrating away in front of him. Moving back up towards the back of the room, we then bumped into the familiar faces of Mikey D and Jamie Head, asking after the presence of Steve Pitron, who was due to D.J. after Vitto, Jamie assuring us Steve was somewhere to be found, promising to let him know we were here. We then came across yet more friends in the form of D.J. Alessandro and Enrico, who we had been chatting with earlier in the evening and were surprised, pleasantly so, to see great pal Lee Yeomans, who was clearly out to have a fabulous time. But our night was to take on further excitement, when we bumped into the cute and cuddly “French” Frank (a friend of a friend), who is a bundle of fun on any occasion, so we now knew we were in for a real treat of a party.

Suddenly the music pace changed, the magnificent lighting concentrated on the stage area and the scintillating form of P.A Ceevox entered, proceeding to delight the audience with a magnificent show, surrounded by a handsome collection of dancing males & females, moving in motion to the music beats. The huge lips behind Ceevox were most fitting for the show and with pyrotechnic displays firing off around her, the crowd were captivated by it all.

SuperMartXe was now definitely the place to be and the splendid production together with the awesome dance troupe was classic Logan Schmidt. Then, with Ceevox finished and the dancers continuing to delight, we succumbed to the Ibiza, Spanish, Latino infused beats (whatever you want to call it) and danced away furiously on the gangway next the main room floor, with our newly found friend Frank in close quarters doing the same. With regular but short breaks away to the bar, submitting to the offers of shots of Sambuca from our naughty French compatriot, we spotted Gabriele Cutrano, who had entertained us so brilliantly at Trade on Christmas night and skipped over to say hello. Gabriele was surprised but pleased to see us, remarking that we never seem to stop (he having spotted us out at Salvation the other night) but blissful that we were having such a great time. With more and more familiar faces around, it was clear that anyone who was anyone didn’t want to miss out on SuperMartXe, so when Logan passed by us (the man looked busy), we couldn’t resist telling him how brilliant we thought the party was.

And my goodness, was it brilliant or what, with the night just getting better and better, the go-go dancers enthralling and when Steve Pitron assumed the decks, the music took on a whole new and exciting direction, trademark Steve Pitron it has to be said and pulsating with it. This ensured that, together with our friend Frank, we danced away at the base of the gangway and then into the main floor itself, mixing it up with the amazing array of club kids, off duty D.J.’s, muscle queens and exhibitionists, laughing, boogieing and sashaying our way virtually right through to the 7 a.m. finish. So good was the main room, the music, the lighting and the dancing, only eclipsed by the massive stage production, the climax being a huge pair of sexy legs emerging from the giant lips, we sadly had no reason to visit the second room, although we did briefly, where the lovely Per Q.X. and Gutterslut pals were in attendance.

So, with a considerable crowd still enjoying the last sips of Steve Pitron’s octane fuelled set, we escaped the main room to collect our bits & bobs, shying away from an invite to Beyond by our D.J. pal Lee Yeomans, rather to slide home to our bed and dreamily recapture the memories of what was a truly amazing night at the Coronet, in the hands of Logan, his team and concept that is the super SuperMartXe.

Given the fact that out first outing back in November was filled with issues, we simply couldn’t believe the transformation. It was clear that Logan had worked extremely hard to turn around the problems with both the security and the coatcheck and he did it in incredible fashion. For this reason, we simply cannot compare the two nights and we were completely blown away by the change. To say that this party was the best this year does it injustice (and we have been busy, visiting over six different ones following the turn into 2009) it was the best party since Trade’s 18th & Matinee’s Viva and we have no problem in comparing this SuperMartXe events to those, it truly deserves the comparison. May we extend a massive thankyou to Logan & his team and also to Steve Pitron, as well as our new buddy Frank for making this one awesome event. Bring on the next one! (DISCO MATT)

Salvation 01.01.09 - Club Review

SALVATION 01.01.09 – THURSDAY 1ST JANUARY 2009
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


In a gay scene history spanning over 16 years, Salvation has formed a large part of our clubbing activity, mainly at Café De Paris which we remember well, visiting the launch party on a Sunday afternoon at this most glittering of venues in London’s West End, 10 years ago, yes 10 whole years ago in 1999.

In a recent chequered history we were so pleased to see supreme promoter Steve Elliot come out of the difficulties, to re-assume his spot at the helm of THE original Salvation, now at a new home round the corner at London’s Hippodrome, a huge & dramatic venue, just right for this glamorous & special event. We couldn’t be more pleased for this charming, engaging and generous man and having missed out on his parties in 2008, we were certainly not going to miss this one.

Having not being to the Hippodrome before, we needed to get our bearings, but clutching our V.I.P. ticket, arrived at the clubs main doors, just after the planned 5 p.m. V.I.P. reception start time. However, finding no activity we retired away for a short while, only to return to a massive queue, stretching from the main doors right back into Leicester Square. Thankful that it so long, when we got to the back, we found the actual V.I.P. queue (long enough in itself) and joined, patiently to gain entrance. And patient we had to be (not again and after all the problems of Matinee earlier in the new day of 2009) as it was nearly ¾ of an hour before we got to the head of the queue. By now Steve was outside the venue, negotiating entrance for close friends, then masterminding our smooth arrival into the club, although it was fair to say that the overzealous, over-demanding and overboard security were not helping matters and the clear reason why the queue had taken so long to shrink.

We were now in though and with our V.I.P. strap round our wrist, wafted into the massive club space, which simply took our breath away. We looked down on a huge dancefloor in a “roman coliseum” style setting with amazing lighting against black encrusted, glass lined and sumptuously decorated tiers of seating & bar areas reaching up over four separate floors/layers, making the space look gigantic yet intriguing. Concentrating on tucking our coats away, we descended some stairs to find a lengthy queue winding down to what appeared to be the main checkpoint, but were fortunate to bump into the lovely Andrew Che Neil who quickly pointed us in the direction of a separate and speedier coatcheck in the depths of the venue.

Back up on dancefloor level, we armed ourselves with energy refreshing drinks and then hit the space proper where the crowd was slowly building, selecting our spot carefully to warm into the proceedings. Elevated above the floor sandwiched by two large podiums & a stage area was the D.J. booth, occupied by temptress Emma MisWhite who was delivering a glittering commercial mix of tunes to really get the party going and as the masses that were already in the club began to sink down to the sole dancing space, we took our spot directly behind the two podiums to gyrate crazily back and forth, really engaging into the glorious atmosphere that was The Hippodrome in the hands of super club Salvation.

MisWhite continued to coax an ever increasing bunch of muscle queens, good looking lationo’s intermixed with club kids galore to the space and with the assembled gay press clicking away the party was now well into it’s stride. We continued to show our dancing flamboyance off on the stage behind the podiums which were continually ascended by a collection of exhibitionists, keen to strut their stuff. We rarely left our spot, only momentarily topping up with refreshments to keep up our energy levels up.

Looking around and up, the club was clearly brimming full and we caught the eye of a number of familiar faces, including D.J’s Mikey D & Jamie Head, Gabriele Cutrano photographer Chris Jepson and even the man himself Steve Elliot who continually checked in that we were having a good time. Then to elevate the electric atmosphere even more, the stage & podium area was cleared to make way for a stunning fire driven performance as a stealth like dancer took the room by storm with a superbly acrobatic display twisting around and dodging the fire torches to our awe and amazement. He was soon replaced by a beautiful collection of dancers, supplied by top notch outfit Fierce International, many of who had entertained us at Matinee earlier in the day and they once again failed to disappoint, complimenting the quality and glamorous feel that we have come to know of Salvation.

We wanted to savour the full atmosphere of the massive Hippodrome venue we proceeded to wind up and around the labyrinth of levels continually bumping into scene faces of old as the dancefloor below got more and more packed, Emma then sent the whole club wild as she pumped out the fabulous anthem “Toca’s Miracle” to whoops and cheers. This sent us speeding back down to ground level to join the mass, although we now knew (and our legs were telling us) that the twelve hours of dancing were beginning to take its toll, so we once again decided to disappear up and around the expanse for respite & to look down on what was the biggest dancing caldron of a space we have ever seen and packed solid with bodies at that. So, eventually, we retired completely, so as to ensure maximum enjoyment as we headed off to our next clubbing venture, with MisWhite having passed the batten to Sharon O Love behind the D.J. decks.

Well, what did we think of Salvation 01.01.09 at The Hippodrome? It is clear that this clubbing brand is as popular as ever. Indeed the massive queues outside the venue were testament to that. Despite the time it took us to get in, despite the awful organisation of the coatcheck (down to the venue - it took us over twenty minutes to get our belongings back) the club itself was stunning and the perfect setting for this stylish and glamorous outing. Whilst the music was a little on the commercial side for our current taste, there was no doubt it went down well with the masses. Whether it was reflective of 10 years of clubbing as the billing suggested, is questionable (more a celebration of the sounds of 2008), but it certainly had us dancing.

Feedback following the event was mixed, with the delays and queues at the door inevitably being the conversation piece, indeed we heard that some couldn’t get in at all, as the venue claimed it was at capacity, resulting in ticket refunds intermixed with disappointment. However, we had a superb time and will definitely consider a re-visit. Salvation, you remain at the top of your game, a massive draw and as successful as you always have been. Congratulations to Steve Elliot & team, we will be back. (DISCO MATT)

Matinee NYD Afterhours - Club Review

MATINEE N.Y.D. AFTERHOURS – THURSDAY 1ST JANUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Ever since legendary afterhours club Beyond graced our shores, New Years day was simply not the same without a visit to Club Colosseum in Vauxhall and even when Beyond was no more, this special slot was filled by “ULTRADE” (a combined effort combo between clubs Trade & Ultra) to ensure that New Years day party hedonists could continue the tradition.

So, when news came through that Matinee (who had taken Colosseum by storm in September) were to hold their New Years day party here, we were very excited indeed. Moreover the hype surrounding this superb clubbing brand in London was sufficient to raise expectations to dizzy heights, meaning we, amongst many, had shunned the New Years Eve parties on offer, rather to throw our whole energies into what was billed to be THE party to be at.

Arriving in Vauxhall on a chilly morning at 6 p.m. at what we thought would be a time when we would simply sail through its doors, we approached club Colosseum to what can only be described complete pandemonium. Having realised that the venue owners had hired out the space to Megawoof on N.Y.E. which was planned to finish at 6 p.m., with Matinee’s organisers been given the space from 5 a.m., dovetailing the clubs was an accident waiting to happen. Not only were the resultant queues massive, the communication of where to stand non existent, which queue was which confusing, but with Matinee forced to use just one small entrance & room while the others were emptied, superb door hostess Minty simply struggled to keep the masses in order. With the “world & his wife” now queuing to get into the talk of the town (so much better a proposition that any N.Y.E. party and having been hyped up so much, guilty as charged guv!!), we were surely in for a long wait.

And wait we did, needing like many, to have our pre-arranged tickets checked off a list, a ½ hour wait turning into 1 hour and with no sign of us getting anywhere near the club entrance. Moreover, many were less patient than us and we saw scores of people simply give up on the complete chaos. With tempers flaring and with us at our wits end, we were just a hairs breadth from throwing in the towel ourselves, when Evolved Events supreme Oliver Mohns came to our rescue and got us through the mess & into the club. It was clear he had a lot on his hands as the advertised “ultra efficient indoor coatcheck” was anything but, the queue winding right up the stairs, through the balcony bar and into the main room, surely the last straw for those waiting so long to get in, the venue clearly letting Matinee down dreadfully.

Shunning the massive coatcheck queue, we wedged ourselves passed bodies in a crowded main room, through the congested passage and back bar area, into a lively V.I.P. room and into the welcoming arms of D.J. Alessandro, who kindly took our belongings to store behind the D.J. booth. So, now our party could now start as we immediately bought ourselves and our saviour Alessandro liquid refreshments, soaking up the music and atmosphere exuding from this most favourite of rooms, not only in Colosseum, but any club in London. Alessandro set about laying down some superb beats to an ever building crowd which included the arrival of cute & lovely Eduardo De La Torre, who was set to go back-to-back in Ibiza style music delight in this most special space.

We wanted to explore the rest of the club however, and wandered back through the pulsating main room, through towards the long room, which for us had the best D.J. billing in the form of Brent Nicholls, Nick Tcherniak & Paul Heron. We were keen to catch up with Brent following his Christmas excursion abroad, but were bemused to find the room still closed, so weaved past the still massive coatcheck queue, down the stairs and into a sparse “café resse” room, where Nathan 6 attempting to draw in a crowd. Before long, it was back up the stairs, past a still closed long room, through a bursting to the seams main room, on the way bumping into super friends, Jamie Head, Jeremy Precelton, Mark Thyme, Enrico & John from Rupert St as well as Matt Bird (who were clearly lapping up the atmosphere) and back into the V.I.P. space, to find Alessandro pumping out a collection of funky, chunky electro infused tunes to a packed room of party boys & girls that he had well and truly eating out of his hands.

Eventually, our prayers were answered when we found the entrance doors to the long room swung open and we could savour this space in the hands of Brent Nicholls. However, it was fair to say that the room was freezing and we approached the D.J. booth to find a short of shivering Brent behind the decks. Pleased to see eachother, we quickly caught up on news, remarking on the debarkle of our entry, then the delay in opening this space and the resultant cold. This delay meant that Brent played out for little more that 30 minutes before the arrival of Nick Tcherniak and whilst many soon got the drift that the room was open, most refused to stick around for long simply because of the uninviting temperature. Nick bounded over to say hello and immediately vowed to get the venue to turn up the heat in the room, but despite his efforts, on assuming his position behind the D.J. Booth, no real change to the chilly conditions occurred.

It was now time to warm up, so swinging back through the main room, we were in time to catch the first of many outings by the fabulous Fierce International go-go dancers in the capable and masterful hands of Mark M Forms, an engaging and handsome character who had invited us through to the dressing room to meet up. However, our nerves got the better of us (to be amongst that mass of muscle & testosterone was too much), although we were pleased when he caught us in the crowd in the middle of the main room, spotting us immediately (good on him). It is fair to say that the dancers were one of just a few highlights of the evening and with the now regular stage expanse across the back of the room being their “spot”, the mixture of male muscle and female beauty, combined with stunning costumes, certainly made an impact.

By now, we were intent on having a good time, so shunning the earlier problems from our minds, we went in search of pleasure. And it was fair to say that pleasure came in bucket loads, in the form of magnificent music & atmosphere in the V.I.P. room in the hands of Alessandro & Eduardo, who went back-to-back as if they had been D.J.’ing together for years, sending a rocking room wild with pure Ibiza infused musical magic. This was matched by Nick Tcherniak in the long room, yes it was still cold, but the music was hot, Nick treating us to progressive techhouse heaven, meaning that the long room was where it was at for us for most of the rest of the evening. And when Paul Heron took over, dressed resplendently in a tartan kilt (was he a true Scotsman underneath?) we hardly moved from our spot, acting, in his own words, as Paul’s “private dancer”, as he like Nick and Brent before him played some fantastic music but struggled to fill the room. Paul’s mix of electro house hedonism infused with disco tipped tracks was worthy of main room airing, rather than this cold corridor style space! But we didn’t care as we danced away merrily.

Over in the main room Luca G performed to the still packed crowd, then giving over to Italian stallion D.J. Pagano, who rounded things off with a brilliant set. However, we were glad to see our party out (a whole 6 hours worth and hardly a moment not dancing!) in the hands of Mr Heron, before sliding out of Matinee into the early afternoon of the first day of 2009, to continue a marathon of clubbing escapades.

So what was the verdict of Matinee afterhours NYD? Well, with so much expectation we would be lying if it fell short in some respects. The queues at the beginning were definitely not the start we wanted; although we would have been foolish to expect anything else from a venue that is renowned for messing things up on New Years Day (we have lost count the hours lost in waiting for NYD Beyond parties). As for the coatcheck, well again, the venue simply cannot be allowed to boast, quote “the best system in Europe” when it failed to deliver again!! Furthermore, the lack of sufficient heating in the long room, coupled with excessive temperatures in the other rooms, really didn’t help. However, the Matinee magic in the form of a top notch D.J. line up, the usual great performances from the Fierce International crew and the characteristically sexy and up for it crowd, made up for all the shortcomings.

On speaking with the promoter after the event, it was clear that the venue failed to deliver what had been asked for. This combined with other difficulties faced (we won’t bore you with the detail, shocking as it is), left him more than disappointed. Were we? Well with the venue yes, with Matinee definitely not. It was a party well worth being at and we did actually enjoy ourselves immensely. In saying that “music is the answer to your problems” sums Matinee NYD up for us. The music was short of amazing from D.J’s, Alessandro, Eduardo de La Torre, Nick Tcherniak, but best of all from Paul Heron (the man is sheer brilliance). The company was fantastic too and the Matinee magic still alive & kicking. We will definitely be there for the next party and you can be rest assured that the promoters will make damn sure the venue delivers to expectations. (DISCO MATT)